Wednesday, 7th January 2015 – It’s a Materials World! by Jack Brettle
What is your view of history? What do historians think drives the development of human society? Is it economic, political, religious or sociological forces?
Jack Brettle posed these questions, but suggested that historians have got it all wrong and that human development is down to new materials technologies!
The talk walked us through four “ages of development”: the stone age, the agricultural age, the industrial age and finally the information age. Within each age, Jack outlined the basic types of materials available at the time, and posited that it was the discovery or development of significantly novel materials that led to the transition to the next age.
He finished with some thoughts on the future; as we move towards a “molecular age” will we be able to design functional molecules for almost any purpose?
An excellent talk, which sparked lots of questions and contributions from the assembled gathering.
Last Updated on September 9, 2021